May I Take Your Order?
by Jesshiku-chan
Summary: Shikamaru...works at Friendly's! Gasp! Will the others find out? Will he survive or will the food service business be the end of him? Finally got off my lazy butt and submitted the rest of this story, Enjoy! : some references to the book Watership Down
1. Did you hear?

I don't own Naruto...though that would be cool...**  
**

**May I take your Order?**

**Chapter 1**

**Friday 3pm...**

"Hey guys, did hear the latest news?" shouted Naruto, running toward Sasuke and Sakura.

"Oh no, not again," said Sasuke, rolling his eyes.

"When I'm finally alone with Sasuke-kun, Naruto has to ruin it...," Sakura whispered, her cheeks slightly pink.

"Guess what I just heard?" asked Naruto.

"The results for your stupidity test came out positive, and you have to go into major surgery and you might not make it out alive?" guessed Sasuke sarcastically. Naruto gave him a nasty look.

"No, I just heard that Shikamaru got a job at Friendly's."

Sakura was actually interested.

"But Shikamaru is the last person I would think would ever get a job. Are you sure you heard right?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Of course I did. Do I look like a baka to you?" yelled Naruto.

"Yes," responded Sasuke quite seriously. Naruto was ready to punch to Sasuke, but Sakura saw what was happening and interrupted.

"The only way we'll know for sure is if we actually ask him. In fact, let's go find Shikamaru right now." She dragged them both away by the hands.

**Meanwhile...**

"Hey, Kiba, Shino, did you hear what Naruto just said?" asked Hinata standing behind a tree, staring at the spot where Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto had just been. Kiba let out a snore. He was on the floor, leaning against a tree, sleeping. Akamaru was asleep too. Shino was watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon. Hinata walked closer to them.

"Excuse me...," she began shyly. Kiba opened one eye. Shino continued to stare at the cocoon.

"Nani?" asked Kiba, still with only one eye open. He let out a small yawn.

"I'm listening," assured Shino.

"I was wondering if you had heard what Naruto said," asked Hinata.

"Nope, I was fast asleep," responded Kiba, stretching his arms, "...and you woke me up, Hinata."

"Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to-," said Hinata.

"Chill, I'm not angry. Just messing with ya," said Kiba, getting up.

"I didn't hear anything. How did you? Were you spying on Naruto again? Why do you always stare at him anyway?" asked Shino who was now helping the butterfly with its first flight. Hinata's face turned completely red.

"Well...uh.."

"Never mind," said Shino abruptly, "What did Naruto say?"

"Well, he said that Shikamaru got a job at Friendly's. I just thought it was interesting and you might want to know."

"Interesting... Shikamaru working? I got to go check this out. What do you say we go to Friendly's tomorrow?" asked Kiba transferring Akamaru from on top of his head to inside his jacket. Akamaru let out a half-asleep bark and then went back into deep slumber.

"Okay... It'll be fun," said Hinata, her face still red. She couldn't help thinking Naruto might be there.

"Well I have nothing better to do," said Shino, walking toward Kiba and Hinata. Kiba took off his hood and smiled.

"Great, so meet me at my house tomorrow at noon and we'll have lunch," he started to walk, "Bye." Kiba waved and then turned around and walked away.

Hinata and Shino said bye and went home.

**In other news...**

"Hey Chouji, do you know where Shikamaru is?" asked Ino with her hands on her hips and a kind of worried expression on her face, "I've been looking everywhere?"

"Nope," replied Chouji, stuffing chips in his mouth, "Why do you want to know anyway? Do you miss your _boyfriend_?"

SLAP!

"Ack! What did you do that for!" asked Chouji, rubbing a stinging red spot on his cheek.

"If you ever say I like Shikamaru again, I'll do much more than just slap you!" Ino yelled as she grabbed Chouji by the collar.

"Okay okay I'm sorry! I'll never say it again! So why do you want to know anyway?"

"Well...," began Ino, instantly calming down again, "This morning he said he wasn't going to show up for practice, which he didn't. So I was like 'where could he be?', so I was wondering if you knew."

Chouji looked at her blankly for a while. Then...

"Shikamaru wasn't at practice?"

Ino's jaw dropped.

"You got to be kidding me!"

"I'm sorry; I don't notice things like that. But I do know one thing, I'm starving. Let's go to Friendly's."

Ino fell to the ground in pure shock. She let out a big sigh.

"Whatever, come on." She walked away with Chouji to go to Friendly's.

**Sometime Later...In a forest far far away...**

"GAARA, WHERE THE HECK ARE WE!"

...Whoa, weren't expecting that were you?...

But before I get ahead of myself lets go back to where this all began...

"KANKURO, GIVE ME THE MAP!"

"Why would I give you the map, Temari!"

Gaara sighed and rolled his eyes. Kankuro and Temari were fighting over who should be in control of the map. If things continued like this they would never make it to the Leaf Village.

"I'm older and more responsible!" yelled Temari trying to take the map out of Kankuro's hands.

"No way, I want it. Guys are better with maps!" Kankuro tugged on the map.

"We should have just asked for directions at that town yesterday," stated Gaara.

Temari and Kankuro kept fighting than all of a sudden. RIP!

Silence...

"Now look what you've done!"

"No way, that was all you, Temari!"

Gaara's hand clenched into a fist. He didn't even turn around to see what had happened, but heard the rip and knew it was the map.

"Grr, I should have killed them a long time ago..."

"OW! Gaara, Kankuro hit me!"

Gaara turned around and gave them both a subtle but deadly look.

"Does it really look like I care?"

"Humph!" pouted Temari.

"Oi, Gaara, why don't you lead?" suggested Kankuro, backing away in submissive fear. Gaara turned around and started walking.

"Whatever."

Kankuro threw the ripped map on the ground, and they walked; Temari and Kankuro giving Gaara a wide berth.

**Now back in Konoha...Dont worry I'll go back to Gaara later...**

"NOOOO! SENSEI, DON'T GO!" pleaded Rock Lee on his knees. Gai patted him on the head. The sun was setting in the background.

"Lee, calm down I'll only be gone for...a few hours."

Lee lunged at him and wrapped his arms around Gai's leg.

"Waahhh! You're leaving me! What did I do wrong!"

"Nothing, I'm just going to hang out with some of the other senseis. I'll be back tomorrow."

Gai kicked Lee off his leg and slowly walked away. Lee kneeled on the floor, crying and whimpering. Tenten and Neji stood in the background with their arms crossed. Tenten walked toward Rock Lee and looked at him. Lee turned around with tears streaming down his face. He was ready for some reassuring words from Tenten but...

BAM!

"Lee, you whimpering baka, toughen up!" yelled Tenten. She had just delivered a painful kick in the butt to Lee, and proceeded by grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. Neji smiled, trying not to laugh.

"Tenten, you're right. I have to be strong for sensei!" Lee declared holding his fist in the air in dramatic fashion.

"Guys you know what?" asked Neji walking slowly toward Tenten and Lee.

"What?" asked Tenten and Lee.

"I'm hungry. Let's go to Friendly's."

"Ignoring the fact that that was completely random, I guess I could go for the Munchie Mania and some clam chowder," smiled Tenten.

"Let's go!" smiled Lee.

**Wondering what happened to Gai? Wonder no more...**

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," waved Gai to the group.

"No worries Gai. I'm always late," smiled Kakashi, not that you could really tell…

"Thanks for inviting me guys," thanked Iruka happily.

"Can we go now? I've been waiting for a half hour," asked Anko.

"I'm ready when you are," responded Kakashi.

"Let's go," said Iruka.

Anko, Kakashi, Gai, and Iruka walked down a path.

**Authors Notes: To be continued. Don't worry it gets better. Yeah, that's right. I already finished the whole story, but I'm being evil and making you wait. Muhahaha! Just give me some time to edit my work. More chapters coming soon. Review and tell me what you think. Sorry for any OOC and/or grammar mistakes, but I'm young. I try my best.  
**


	2. OMG! SHIKAMARU!

**Chapter 2**

**i do not own Naruto...yada yada... **

**At Friendlys...**

"Hey Chouji, did you decide what you want?"

"Yup. I'm going to get a hamburger, some clam chowder, the Munchie Mania, and a milkshake."

Ino remained silent, trying not to be rude.

"I think I'll just pick from your Munchie Mania. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all," replied Chouji with a smile. Ino smiled back.

5 minutes later...

"Chouji, what's taking the waiter so long?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Well, whoever he is, he's not getting a tip."

"Yeah, I'm starving."

Just then their waiter walked up.

"Konnichiwa, my name is-,"

"SHIKAMARU!" yelled Ino in shock. Up until now, Shikamaru had had his eyes closed.

"Oh, it's you guys. Hi," he said, opening his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ino.

"Working."

"Since when do you work?"

"Ugh, explaining this will be such a drag."

"I really don't care. Tell me, now," demanded Ino.

"Do you want me to get fired? I don't have time for this. Let's just say I needed the cash. Now, can I take your order?"

"Sure, I'll have a milkshake, hamburger, clam chowder, and the Munchie Mania," said Chouji, totally uninterested in the fact that Shikamaru was the waiter. Shikamaru looked at Ino waiting for an order.

"Nothing for me, arigato," answered Ino, waving her hand in a "no thanks" fashion.

"Wait, what am I saying! Shika...," Ino started to say but Shikamaru had already walked away.

"Sigh, this is weird," declared Ino.

"What is?" asked Chouji, looking at the dessert menu. Ino leaned on the table and sighed.

"I'm not even gonna say anything..."

**Just at that very moment...**

"Table for four, please," informed Anko, holding up four fingers. The hostess took four menus from the podium and said, "Follow me."

Anko, Gai, Kakashi, and Iruka followed the hostess to the table. She put down the menus and walked away.

"So why did you invite us here anyway, Anko?" asked Kakashi.

"I just thought it would be nice to invite some friends to Friendly's. Is that so wrong?"

"Nope, just thought maybe you had a reason," said Kakashi.

"So do we all know what we want to order?" asked Iruka.

"I'm going to get the shrimp basket," declared Gai.

Their waiter walked up.

"Konnichiwa, my name is Shik - Oh gosh, how come everyone I know is coming here? My life is so troublesome."

"Shikamaru!" gasped everyone in unison.

"What are you doing here?" asked Iruka. "Shouldn't you be doing other things now that you're a chuunin?"

"Last time I checked, you passed the exams. I should know," said Anko.

Shikamaru sighed.

"Now guys, give Shikamaru some time to explain," said Kakashi. Everyone looked at Shikamaru anxiously.

"Trust me, I'd much rather be outside staring at the clouds right now but my mom...well, never mind. Explaining this would be too troublesome. Just tell me what you want to order."

"Okay...I'll take the chicken fajitas, a salad, mozzarella sticks, and a milkshake," said Anko.

"I'll take water and the shrimp basket," said Gai.

"Um, a Coke and a roast turkey for me," said Kakashi.

"Just some grilled cheese and Sprite," said Iruka.

"Okay, I'll be back later with your food, but you probably already knew that…," Shikamaru walked back to the kitchen.

……………………………………………………

"Well, that was an unexpected surprise...," said Anko, breaking the silence.

"Yup," responded Kakashi.

"Soooo...," started Iruka.

"So anyway, last week, I was walking down the street and I found ¥300! And I was like 'Cool!'" Anko tried to make a casual conversation. Everyone just stared at her.

"Uhh...Wanna hear a story?" she asked. Everyone nodded.

"Okay, once there was a bunny named El-Ahrairah. He had many wives and..."

She continued to tell the story about how the sun god, Frith, told El-Ahrairah to stop having so many kids, but El-Ahrairah was like "No way." The others seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the story. But right when Anko got to the part where El-Ahrairah tries to hide from Frith, she noticed something.

"Then El-Ahrairah said 'If you're'- GAI, why the heck are you staring at me like that!" she turned toward him. Gai looked kind of shocked for a second but then his face turned pink.

"I think you're very kawaii," he said with a (fairly bright) smile and a thumbs up.

Anko sighed, "Gosh, now I know where Lee gets it from..."

**Meanwhile...right outside Friendly's**

"Lee, hurry up! Do you really need to win one of those stupid prizes now!" asked Tenten, tapping her foot on the floor.

Rock Lee was messing around with one of those prize grabber machines.

"Sakura-chan would love this stuffed teddy bear," said Lee, completely ignoring Tenten.

It was around 7pm, it was dark, and the only light was coming from an antique light post near the entrance to Friendly's.

Tenten let out an annoyed sigh.

"Hey, Tenten."

Tenten looked up. It was Neji.

"Let's go inside and get a table," he grabbed her hand and led her to the door, "Lee will meet us after he runs out of money." Neji smiled and opened the door. Tenten blushed. She put her arm around his as they walked in.

"Table for three, please," informed Neji. The hostess got three menus out and looked up.

"You're a cute couple," the hostess smiled as she started to walk toward the table. Tenten and Neji remained silent and motionless for about five long seconds. Then they looked at each other and quickly released each other's arms. Their faces were completely red.

"I guess we should go sit now," suggested Neji, following the hostess.

They sat down and waited...and waited...and waited...

"Oh my goodness, this is taking forever!" yelled Tenten, annoyed.

"Yeah, I wonder what's taking the waiter so long...and Lee."

The waiter walked up.

"Hello my name is - oh gosh, how troublesome. How do I keep getting assigned people I know? Is all of Konoha here or something?"

Tenten and Neji looked at Shikamaru in shocked bewilderment.

"Shikamaru?" they said, but unlike everyone else they didn't scream it.

"You know who I am, now can I take your order?"

"Well actually we're waiting for Lee," said Tenten.

"But we'll take the Munchie Mania to start and I'll have a Coke," said Neji.

"I guess I'll have Fanta," said Tenten.

Shikamaru finished writing it down and walked away without another word.

Then Lee ran in and sat down next to Tenten.

"Guys, I'm broke."

"Nobody told you to spend all your money on a game of chance," responded Tenten.

"But it was for Sakura-chan..."

Tenten loosened up and gave Lee a sweet smile.

"Hey, Lee, you won't believe what you missed," said Neji.

"What?"

"Our waiter is Shikamaru," answered Tenten.

"Really!"

**Meanwhile...back in a certain forest...**

"yawn Hey Gaara, can we stop and rest now? We've been walking for hours," asked Temari.

Gaara looked over his shoulder toward Temari and Kankuro.

"Whatever," he said.

"sigh Arigato, Gaara," thanked Temari, falling to the ground in exhaustion.

"Wow it's been a really long day," sighed Kankuro, leaning against a tree, "And to think none of this would have happened if Temari hadn't ripped the map." He gave Temari a taunting stare. Temari really couldn't believe he was actually bringing this up.

"Excuse me, but it's your fault for thinking you could handle the navigational responsibility!"

But Gaara didn't want to hear it. He gave them a long, cold stare and they got the point. Temari and Kankuro shut up instantly. Then Gaara walked off to do whatever it was he wanted to do. Temari and Kankuro tried to fall asleep.

"Its freezing," shivered Temari.

"Hey don't look at me," mumbled Kankuro sleepily. So Temari, of course, looked at him.

"You're the one with the blanket you selfish son of a -," started Temari.

"Fine!" interrupted Kankuro, taking the blanket out of his bag and throwing it at Temari.

"Arigato, but won't you get cold?" asked Temari. Kankuro rolled over.

"I'll last."

Temari stared at the blanket and seemed to be considering something. Next thing Kankuro knew, his sister was snuggled up next to him.

"This way we'll both be warm..."

They fell asleep.

**Back at Friendlys...**

"Here's your food," said Shikamaru before walking away.

Chouji started stuffing his face. Ino picked from the Munchie Mania.

"We have to get Shikamaru to tell us why he's here. I'm dying to know."

"I have to go to the bathroom, Ino-chan. Be right back," said Chouji. He walked away.

Ino sighed.

"I wish I had someone to talk to..."

Just then Tenten walked by to go to the bathroom.

"Tenten!" said Ino happily.

Tenten looked over her shoulder in surprise.

"Ino?" she looked at her, "Ino, what are you doing here?" Tenten walked over and sat with Ino.

"Chouji got hungry. It's nice to finally have a girl to talk to."

"I've had a pretty long day but," Tenten smiled, "I got to hold Neji's hand!"

Ino squealed in that annoying girlish way, "Really, wow! That's great! Tell me everything that happened."

"Well..."

Tenten continued to tell the story...

...While Anko continued to tell hers...

"So El-Ahrairah and all the bunnies lived happily ever after," Anko smiled.

"Very interesting story," said Kakashi eating some french-fries.

"Hehe, this food is great," smiled Iruka digging into his grilled cheese.

"Hey, Anko, can you move? I have to go to the bathroom," asked Gai.

Anko got up so Gai could get out the booth and use the bathroom.

On the way to the bathroom, Gai just happened to pass by Lee and Neji.

When Lee looked up and saw his beloved sensei, he was overwhelmed with happiness.

"Gai-sensei!" screamed Lee, running out the booth and jumping into his sensei's arms. The force of the impact caused them to fall to the ground.

"Heh heh, Lee, what a surprise."

Neji looked away in embarrassment.

Lee wouldn't let go of Gai. Gai tried to get him off.

"Lee, please, I have to go to the bathroom!"

Tenten heard the commotion.

"Oh gosh! What did Lee do now!" She jumped out the booth and ran to where Lee and Gai were.

Ino followed in curiosity. Chouji, who had just come out the bathroom, followed Ino.

They came across a disturbingly hilarious sight. Lee was refusing to let go of Gai. Tenten and Ino blushed in embarrassment.

"Lee, let go of me!"

"Just a little longer!"

Anko, Iruka, and Kakashi had heard something and decided to check it out. They were too preoccupied staring at Lee and Gai that they didn't notice that Ino, Chouji, Tenten, and Neji were there. Pretty much nobody noticed Neji whistling innocently, since he was the only one who was still in his chair.

Lee got up.

"Okay, I'm done."

Tenten grabbed Lee and shook him violently.

"Lee, you baka! What's the matter with you!"

Ino and Chouji ran back to their seat before they got in trouble. Gai quietly snuck into the bathroom. Kakashi, Anko, and Iruka walked back to their seat. Tenten was ready to kill Lee, but Shikamaru stopped her.

"Normally I would just go ahead and let you kill him, but I don't want to get fired, so no fighting."

"Fine," mumbled Tenten.

Tenten sat down next to Neji, but was still fuming. Neji saw she needed someone to calm her down, so he held her hand again. Well, he didn't exactly hold it…he just put his hand on top of hers. Tenten instantly calmed down, sighed, and rested her head on Neji's shoulder.

Lee sighed.

"You know, maybe I shouldn't have done that."

**Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes...Sorry for any ooc too. Arigato to my editor Kimi-sensei...read her stories...**


	3. Flies, Sand, and Carnivorous Plants

**I do not own Naruto... **

**Chapter 3  
**

**Back to the forest...**

When they woke up the next morning, Gaara wasn't there. Temari was first to wake. She looked around.

"Oi, Kankuro, where's Gaara?" Temari nudged him gently.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Sheesh! I'm just asking..."

Five minutes passed and Gaara still didn't show up.

"Wah! He left us!" Temari whimpered.

"Why should we care? He doesn't care about us," complained Kankuro, completely calm.

Then all of sudden, Gaara appeared out of nowhere. I wish I could do that…

"I'm right here."

Temari got up and walked over to Gaara.

"Where were you?" asked Temari in that annoying, control freak, older-sibling voice.

"Places… Now let's go. We have to head in that direction," informed Gaara, pointing to the left.

"Okay, but how do you know?"

"While you guys wasted your time sleeping, I was out scoping the area, so I know where to go."

Temari started to back away after Gaara gave her that "you're such a burden" look. But Kankuro got up and walked toward Gaara with a yawn.

"How did you know we were looking for you anyway?"

"Third eye."

"Oh yeah...," said Temari and Kankuro.

"Oi, wait a minute! You can't hear with your eye!" pointed out Temari, after a moment of thought.

"I can read lips…"

Temari said nothing. Kankuro shouted.

"Really! That is so cool! When di-…" Kankuro stopped when he noticed Gaara staring at him, completely unamused.

"Let's go," ordered Gaara, starting to walk away.

But before they started moving, Temari spoke up.

"Actually, I'm going to go take a bath now...in that river over there. So be right back. DO NOT follow me."

Kankuro and Gaara stayed silent for a while as Temari walked away.

"Well, I'm going to go practice a new hobby," said Gaara.

"And what might that be?"

But Gaara was already gone. Kankuro sighed.

"Now what...? I'm bored..."

About thirty minutes later...

"Kankuro, we have to go. Where's Temari?" Gaara appeared, again, out of nowhere.

Kankuro screamed in surprise. He had been taking a nap before Gaara showed up.

"Ah! Gaara you scared me."

"Where is Temari?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen her since this morning."

Gaara mumbled what sounded like "useless" under his breath and said, "Be right back."

He left just as quickly as he appeared.

Now he was at the river's edge…

"Temari are you here? We have to-OH GOSH!" Gaara clapped his hands over his eyes and turned around. Temari let out a scream that probably could have been heard for miles. It certainly got Kankuro's attention. He came running just in time to see Temari wrap her dress around her wet, naked form. Kankuro looked around and tried to make sense of the situation. Gaara's face was red and Temari looked like she was about to cry, yell, or attack...it's kind of hard to tell with Temari. Emotional training and whatnot.

Kankuro finally realized what had happened.

"Oh my gosh!" he yelled.

Temari ran away.

Gaara was even more emotionally scarred than he already had been. His face was still red. Kankuro walked over and patted Gaara on the back.

"It may seem awkward now, but you'll get over it."

"Don't touch me..." Gaara walked away, leaving Kankuro 'hanging' as some would say.

**Sometime later...At Kiba's house...**

_Ding Dong._

"Do you think Kiba-kun is ready?" asked Hinata.

"I don't know, but it sure is taking him a long time. Ring the bell again," suggested Shino.

"Okay."

_Ding Dong._

_Crash! Bang! Thump! Thud! Shatter! Boom! Crack! Slam! Clang! Wham! _"OWWW!"

Hinata and Shino were starting to get a little nervous at the sudden array of loud noises coming from the house.

The door opened and Kiba nearly fell out. He was in his Pajamas, with his nightcap hanging off the side of his head and a toothbrush in his mouth. His sleeve was hanging off his shoulder. Hinata's cheeks turned slightly pink at this sight.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear the bell. Akamaru woke me up. I'll be right back." Kiba walked back into the house.

...Awkward silence as Hinata and Shino wait for Kiba...

Kiba walked back out after about 5 minutes.

"Okay, I'm ready to go."

"Kiba, don't tell me you actually sleep until noon," said Shino.

"As a h-host you're s-supposed to be the f-first one ready," informed Hinata.

Kiba's cheeks turned an embarrassed shade of pink.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. You sound like my mom. Let's go."

Kiba ran down the path towards Friendly's.

"Oi, Kiba-kun, w-wait up!" Hinata ran after him.

Shino sighed and followed.

A few minutes later...walking down a tree-filled path...5 minutes from Friendlys...

"We're almost there," shouted Kiba.

"Arf arf! (yay!)" barked Akamaru.

"Uh, Kiba-kun, w-why are you holding my hand?" asked Hinata, her cheeks slightly pink.

Kiba stopped in his tracks.

"I am?" he said looking away from Hinata, "Well I guess it's because you're like a little sister to me. I wouldn't want to lose you," smiled Kiba, turning his head to stare at Hinata. Hinata smiled back. Shino didn't say anything.

"Now what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Kiba started running again. Again, Hinata followed. Again, Shino sighed.

**Again back in the forest...**

"AHHHHHHH!" screamed Kankuro and Temari. They were on the ground backing up against a tree.

"I NEVER THOUHGT I'D BE EATEN ALIVE BY PLANTS!" yelled Kankuro.

"WE'RE GONNA DIE!" screamed Temari.

"I'm not worried," said Garaa who was sitting to the left of Temari and Kankuro. He had a calm, taunting expression on his face.

Temari and Kankuro had surprised, almost blank looks on their faces. Then they got angry.

"Gaara, why you little-! This is all your fault we're in this mess! How could you not notice a big stinking sign that said 'DANGER! GIANT, CARNIVOROUS PLANTS!'" blamed Temari.

"GAARA, IF WE MAKE IT OUT OF HERE ALIVE, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" yelled Kankuro

"When did you become a comedian?" Gaara remarked blankly, with complete apathy.

The 8ft Venus fly traps and huge vines from the trees moved closer.

"EEEK!" screamed Temari.

"I'm never eating vegetables aga-- Gaara, what are you doing?" asked Kankuro.

Temari looked over too. She instantly realized what Gaara's "new hobby" was.

"GAARA, I highly doubt this is the time for SAND SCULPTING!"

Gaara continued to construct a sand statue.

"But, dear sister, it's such a lovely image of you," said Gaara adding the finishing touches.

Temari stared at Gaara's creation for a while; a beautiful recreation of her sitting on the ground, staring at the sky.

"Oi, you're right. It is nice. Arigato."

"Excuse me!" said Kankuro, "We're about to be eaten alive and you're admiring art!"

"Oh yeah, that..." Temari was not happy to be back to reality.

The plants actually started to growl. Temari and Kankuro huddled together.

Gaara completely ignored his siblings' terrified screams.

"Gaara..." Temari gave him a terrified, almost desperate look.

"Fine..." Gaara used his sand to kill all the plants within about ten seconds, using it to deprive them of precious sunlight and drying up their water supplies. After all, refusing to help after that look Temari had given him would've been low, even for Gaara. See! He does care! Deep down, he really does care about his siblings! Deep…deep…_deep_ down. Somewhere…

"Well, that was...amazing...," remarked Temari, completely at a loss for words.

"You know what, I think we better go," suggested Kankuro, standing up, trying to avoid any more trouble.

Gaara sighed and continued his leadership duties.

After about 10 minutes of walking, they came upon a river. It brought back unwanted memories to Temari and Gaara.

"GAARA, WHERE THE HECK ARE WE!" yelled Kankuro.

"Yell at me again and I'll kill you..."

"Come on guys, Gaara, Kankuro, no need to start a fight. It won't help us."

Then Temari noticed something floating in the water.

"Hey, isn't that our map?"

Kankuro, Gaara, and Temari watch the ripped pieces of map float by.

"Maybe it's a sign. Let's follow the river. It might lead to Konoha," said Gaara.

They kept on walking.

**It's been a while, but Naruto & company are back...**

"It's a new day and I'm ready!" shouted Naruto, throwing his arms in the air.

"For what?" asked Sasuke, who was not happy to have been interrupted from his walk in the park.

"Friendly's of course! For my birthday meal!" smiled Sakura.

Sasuke sighed. He knew there was no way he could get out of this.

"Oh, but first I have to go to the bathroom," said Naruto looking around for a bathroom.

"sigh Naruto, not now," complained Sakura.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I really have to go."

"Uh, guys...," said Sasuke, pointing to the spot behind Naruto and Sakura. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Sakura and Naruto turned around. Right there, near a tree, was a conveniently placed outhouse.

"Oh, sweet! My luck is improving!" Naruto ran to the outhouse.

"Naruto, you baka, it's probably a trap...," Sasuke and Sakura informed.

Naruto tapped on the outhouse.

"Odd, this feels like it's made of sand...Oh well." He shrugged his shoulders and walked in merrily.

Sasuke and Sakura stared at the outhouse for about five seconds. Then the outhouse collapsed.

"EEEEK!" shrieked Naruto.

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro walked out from behind a tree cracking up. Well, Gaara wasn't really laughing, more like snickering...smirking…yeah…smirking sounds about right.

"Temari!" squealed Sakura, running up to hug her.

"Oi, Gaara, Kankuro," waved Sasuke.

"Hi," responded Gaara and Kankuro.

"This is so not funny, guys!" yelled Naruto pulling his pants back up which, by the way, were filled with sand. It was most likely extremely uncomfortable.

Everyone burst out laughing again, except Gaara and Sasuke.

"Oi, we got to go. You guys want to come?" asked Sakura looking a Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.

"Where?" asked Kankuro.

"Friendly's for my birthday!"

"Sure, why not? After being stuck in a forest for three days, I guess I could use a good meal," answered Temari.

"Then let's go," said Naruto, "I have to use a real bathroom."

**Back at Friendlys...**

"Dude, where's our waiter? I'm starving!" complained Kiba, banging his fist on the table.

"Arf arf!" barked Akamaru in agreement.

"Kiba-kun, calm down," said Hinata in her usual shy way, "C-complaining isn't going to make our waiter get here any faster." She petted Akamaru to calm him down.

"...erm...," grunted Shino.

"What's with you, Shino?" asked Kiba, rubbing Hinata's head with his fist, which messed up her hair. She sighed. She had kind of gotten used to this.

"When you banged your fist on the table you killed a fly..."

Kiba looked down and sure enough where he had just had his hands was a crushed, motionless fly.

"Oops! I guess I did. Oh well, it's just a fly."

Shino twitched at the last comment, but didn't say anything.

"Hey, I think our waiter's coming," said Hinata, trying to break the tension.

Then, dun dun dun…Shikamaru walked up! Isn't it weird how he keeps getting assigned people he knows?

"Konnichiwa, my name is...sigh this is such a drag. What are you guys doing here?"  
"Eatin-," Shino was interrupted by Kiba's amazement.

"SHIKAMARU! Why are you working here? Is it fun? How much do you get paid? How come you didn't get fired yet? You know, I heard Temari's in town!"

Shikamaru looked at him for awhile. Do you know what it's like to be overwhelmed with questions you really don't want to answer?

"One, none of your business. Two, not really. Three, minimum wage. Four, is that an insult? And five, why should I care?"

Kiba remained silent. He was disappointed and somewhat surprised that he didn't get the answers he wanted. Akamaru leaned against him and fell asleep. Kiba petted him.

"Shikamaru-kun, konnichiwa, how are you doing?" greeted Hinata.

"Whatever. Can I take your order?"

"...erm..." In case you couldn't tell, that was Shino again.

"What's your problem?" asked Shikamaru.

"He's ticked that I killed this fly. You know, it's not really good for restaurants to have flies," said Kiba tauntingly.

"...Talk to the manager. Now, can I take your order?"

"I'll have a bacon cheeseburger with a Pepsi, and Akamaru will have the BBQ chicken platter," said Kiba gently petting Akamaru in a way that didn't wake him up.

"May I have the oriental chicken salad and a milkshake?" asked Hinata politely.

"...erm..."

"I think he means he wants fish and chips with a Sprite," translated Hinata.

Shikamaru walked away.

"How did you know that's what I wanted?" asked Shino.

"I know my friends well. You always order that," answered Hinata with a smile.

"...Arigato."

Kiba took off his hood and yawned.

"I'm tired..."

"You're the one who said to meet at noon," reminded Shino.

"The early bird gets the worm," beamed Hinata.

"...erm..."

"Oh! Sorry, Shino! Gomen! I didn't mean to-."

"Shh!" Kiba started to doze off. He fell asleep and his head fell on Hinata's shoulder. She blushed and gently nudged him awake.

"Uh...Kiba-kun, the food should be coming soon."

And would you believe it. Just that moment Shikamaru walked up with their food. He started to transfer the food from the tray to the table. Then...

Dun! Dun! Dun!

Konoha's number one hyperactive, knuckle head ninja barged into the restaurant and ran screaming toward the bathroom, but stopped in mid-step when he saw Shikamaru. Then his attitude changed from "mad rush" to "I knew it!" He didn't even notice Kiba, Hinata, and Shino staring at him. He pointed to Shikamaru.

"SHIKAMARU! I knew it! I knew you were working here! You thought you could keep it a secret but I was the first to find out! I, Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage, have unearthed your secret!" He had his trademark, fox-like grin on his face.

"..." That was the response from the four startled ninja. Nobody moved. It seemed like time had momentarily stopped for five seconds. Then Naruto looked over and saw a 'still too sleepy to care' Kiba, a 'really can't tell what he's thinking' Shino, and a blushing Hinata. Even Akamaru woke up and stared at him curiously, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"Naruto-kun...," whispered Hinata.

Naruto blushed in embarrassment then started to back away when he saw his teammates and the sand village trio walking through the door.

"I'm going to the bathroom," said Naruto. Then he ran to the bathroom.

There was a loud scream and Naruto came rushing out.

"Oops! Wrong bathroom!" This time Naruto ran through the door to the **boy's **bathroom.

Shikamaru finished giving Kiba, Hinata, and Shino their food and walked away.

**...Now, wasn't that interesting?...Anyway I'm sure you don't want to know but...time to tell you about Naruto's time in the bathroom...**

The little, fox demon child walked into the stall and sat on the toilet.

"Phew, that was close," sighed Naruto while doing...well…what people usually do in bathrooms.

"I almost made a complete fool of myself back there," he whispered pulling up his pants and flushing the toilet, "I hope the others didn't see me like that."

He walked out of the stall and to the sink.

"_Good thing when I'm Hokage I won't have to worry about things like this,_" thought Naruto, washing his hands with a smile on his face.

He walked out the bathroom confidently like nothing had happened. He spotted Sasuke and Sakura sitting at a table and walked over. It wasn't a booth though. What a disappointment. Naruto found those hard wooden chairs quite uncomfortable.

"Oi, Sakura-chan, where are Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari?" asked Naruto after sitting down and noticing their sand village friends weren't there.

"They decided to get their own booth," answered Sakura looking at the menu.

"Sigh, why do they get a booth...?" whispered Naruto to himself. But Sakura overheard and asked, "Eh?"

"Nothing, here comes the waiter," said Naruto.

But Naruto was wrong. It wasn't a waiter. It was a waitress. Bum bum bum!

"Hello my name is-," started a girl with long, red, straight hair flowing down to her mid-back. Streaks of blonde were in her hair also.

"Excuse me," interrupted Naruto, "No offense, but I was hoping to request a waiter. Heh heh heh." An evil grin came across his face.

"Can we have Shikamaru please?" smiled Naruto.

The waitress nodded and walked away.

"Naruto, you are so immature," complained Sakura.

"Loser...," remarked Sasuke.

"Humph!" pouted Naruto.

**Author's note: ...have you noticed the chapters are getting longer?...don't worry folks. much more to come. i think im going to start updating slower. just to keep you waiting. Afterall it took me a long time to write the story so i'll make you wait as long as my friends and i had to. Arigato to Kimi-sensei who edits this story. Read her stories. BTW, if you're not clear on the couples its Naruto/Hinata, Temari/Shikamaru, Neji/Tenten, and Gai/Anko. I think that's it...Please review. Hugs and kisses!**

**-Jesshiku-chan  
**


	4. Chaos at Friendly's

**I do not own Naruto yada...yada... **

**Chapter 4**

**In the bushes behind Friendly's...devising evil plans...**

"Itachi, are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Kisame.

"Of course it is! How dare you doubt me!" whispered Sasuke's evil brother, Itachi.

"I'm just saying-"

"Shut up!"

"But Itachi-"

"I said 'shut up'!"

"Sigh…"

"I heard that!"

"..."

"I hear speechlessness!"

"What?!"

"Never mind, on with the plan!"

"You mean the plan to kidnap Naruto?"

"What else would I be talking about?"

"Well there is the plan-"

"It was a rhetorical question!"

Itachi snuck to the back door and quietly opened it. He held his finger up to his mouth as a sign of silence. Kisame followed unenthusiastically.

"Kisame, you have the poison right?"

Kisame nodded.

"Great so all we have to do is wait to hear what Naruto orders." Itachi let out a small chuckle.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

Shikamaru sat on a chair. He was in the Friendly's kitchen waiting for more work. No matter how much he didn't want it he knew it was coming. He started to doze off when the waitress from before interrupted him.

"Shikamaru, table seventeen is in need of your service."

"Do it yourself, Umeko..."

"I was going to, but they requested you."

"Grr…Naruto."

"Excuse me?"  
"Nothing, I'm going."

Shikamaru got up and walked toward the small archway to the dining area.

"How troublesome... if only..."

_"Shikamaru, I'm tired of you just sitting around the house all day."_

_"What do you want me to do about it, mom?"_

_It was breakfast and Shikamaru and his mother were sitting at a table. Shikamaru was staring absentmindedly out the window at the clouds._

_"Why don't you get a job?" pouted his mother._

_"Why would I want to?"_

_"It's not a matter of what you __**want**__ to do. It's what I tell you to do. Don't talk back to your mother!"_

_"...sigh..."_

_"Shikamaru, let's put it this way. It's my birthday in a month and you never get me anything. Why don't you work to get some money to buy me something?"  
"Gosh, you're such a nag..."  
"Okay, that settles it young man," she pointed angrily at her rebellious son, "You're getting a job tomorrow whether you like it or not!"_

_"Sigh...how troublesome..."_

"Gosh, all that woman does is nag, nag, and nag. She's so annoying."

Shikamaru walked to Naruto's table.

"Hi Shikamaru," smiled Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke waved.

"Oi, guys," Shikamaru gave a grudging look to Naruto.

"We're ready to order," informed Sasuke.

"Okay, what do you want?"

"I want the chicken parm supermelt and lemonade!" shouted Naruto.

"I'm gonna have the sirloin steak and root beer," said Sakura.

"I'll take Chicken Quesadillas and water," said Sasuke.

"Okay, I'll be back…eventually." Shikamaru gave Naruto an evil grin and walked away.

* * *

**In the storeroom...eavesdropping...**

"Kisame, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"  
"Naruto just ordered the chicken parm supermelt. Now we can set our plan into action."  
"Okay, let's go."

Itachi sighed.

"You weren't even trying to eavesdrop, were you?"

"Maybe..."

Itachi walked into the kitchen and stayed lowed. Kisame and Itachi hid behind the counter.

"Cool! I've never been in a restaurant kitchen before." Kisame's eyes lit up.

"Gosh, you're a freak...Oh! Here it is!" Itachi poured droplets of poison into Naruto's chicken parm.

"Okay, let's go before someone notices."

A waitress walked into the kitchen and Itachi and Kisame scurried out like mischievous raccoons.

"And now...we wait," said Itachi.

* * *

**Sitting at a table...**

"Wow this has been a really long day," sighed Kankuro, "It's only 12:30, but it feels like _this morning_ was weeks ago." He put stress on "this morning" just to tease Gaara and Temari.

"Yeah," started Temari, "You have no idea how angry I am at you Gaara. I specifically told you not to follow me and you did."  
Gaara simply blushed and said nothing.

"Just five more minutes and I would've have been fully dressed, but no you had to decide to leave right away. I would've killed you if I could..."

"Heh heh." Kankuro enjoyed the violent tension between his siblings.

"It's not my fault..."

"And to think I trusted you!"  
"Well why did you decide to take a bath anyway?"  
"I was dirty!"  
"We were stuck in the middle of a forest! The last you should've been worrying about is hygiene!"

"Pervert!"  
"Tramp!"

"Umm... may I take your order?" Shikamaru interrupted before the argument got bad.

"Shikamaru?" said Temari in surprise.

"Nice to see you guys again," lied Shikamaru (he had to be kind to customers…), "It's been a while since I last saw you."

"Same here," said Temari. She was completely calm now.

"Can we eat now?" Wow, Kankuro is rude, isn't he?

"What do you want?" asked Shikamaru.

"Food."

Gaara gave Kankuro a dangerous look.

"U-um…gulp… I'll take the uh...just a bowl of clam chowder and water." Sweat ran down Kankuro's back. Gaara lessened his gaze.

"I'll have a hotdog and pepsi," said Gaara.

"Um I'll take flounder and a sprite," said Temari.

Shikamaru walked away.

"Well that was unexpected...," declared Temari.

"Very..." responded Kankuro.

"Well, I'm going to the bathroom," informed Temari. She got up and walked away.

.There was now an awkward silence between the sand brothers.

"Soooo...," started Kankuro.

"Shut up..."

"Sheesh! Rude much."

"..."

"..."

Gaara was bored. Very bored. And what does he do when he's bored? Make people suffer of course.

"Hey watch this," he said, uncorking his gourd.

"This is gonna be good," chuckled Kankuro.

Shikamaru was walking by with a tray full of food. Sand slowly snuck its way around his ankle and he…well... tripped. The food went flying. Kiba who just happened to be walking by got hit in the face with a steaming hot bowl of clam chowder. He let out a yelp and Akamaru went crazy running around barking. Half of the customers rushed out the restaurant.

Shikamaru was just coming back to his senses. Temari who had just come out of the bathroom, slipped on the wet floor on the way to see if Shikamaru was okay. She shut her eyes tightly, preparing for the imminent pain.

"Oww..."

She landed on something. It hurt, but somehow she enjoyed it. When she opened her eyes a few seconds later she found out why. She had landed on Shikamaru! And if that were not enough, their lips were touching!

"Holy crap!" Temari jumped up and scurried back to her seat. Shikamaru got up, and the waitress from earlier, Umeko, came to help him.

Back at the table, Temari's face was red. Gaara looked at the damage he had caused and feeling slightly guilty said, "Oops..."

Kankuro, on the other hand, was perfectly preoccupied laughing his head off. Temari was in too much shock to do anything.

Hinata ran over to help Kiba. His eyes were tearing. Hinata wiped his face with a tissue.

"Come on, Kiba-kun, it'll be alright." She led him to the booth and sat him down. Then she ran around the restaurant chasing Akamaru. She finally caught the runaway dog, and then got to sit down. Shino remained silent.

Shikamaru and Umeko were stuck cleaning the mess that Gaara had caused.

Itachi and Kisame, who had been hiding near the back exit, were trying to hold in suppressed laughs.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had heard the commotion but were too far away to see it. All they saw was Hinata running after Akamaru. Frankly, Naruto was the only one who really cared what happened, but Sakura wouldn't let him go and check it out.

* * *

**20 minutes later ... after everything was sorted out...**

"Here's your food," said Shikamaru putting squad 7's food on the table.

He walked away.

Sasuke bit into his Chicken Quesadillas.

Sakura took the first bit of her juicy sirloin steak.

Naruto stared at his food.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" asked Sakura.

"I don't know...something just seems weird about this food..."  
"Just eat it, loser," said Sasuke.

"I'm telling you guys, I just don't think I should eat this. Lucky I brought some ramen with me!"

Naruto smiled like an idiot, while Sasuke and Sakura just stared at him.  
"Naruto, why did you order that if you had ramen?" asked Sakura.

"Well...um...because...well..you see..uhh..."

"Because Naruto's stupid like that," answered Sasuke, taking another bite out of his food.

Kiba walked by to go to the bathroom. He saw that Naruto wasn't eating. His stomach grumbled. He was still hungry.

"Hey, Naruto, are you gonna eat that?" Kiba walked up.

"Uh...no you can have it."  
"Arigato."

Itachi and Kisame saw what was going on.

"No!" whispered Itachi.

"This is bad...," informed Kisame.

"You think!"

But there was nothing they could do.

Kiba took the chicken parm supermelt and took a big—no, not big--huge bite out of it. He smiled, satisfied. But Kiba didn't even get to take a step back. For within seconds it looked like he was totally drunk. His face was pink. He stumbled around in circles. Then his face turned green and he started to cough. He fell to the ground.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stared at Kiba blankly for a while. Then...

"Naruto, what did you do?!" yelled Sakura, pointing an accusing finger.

"What?! I didn't do anything!"  
Sasuke ran over to Kiba. He lifted his hand and put two fingers on Kiba's wrist.

"He still has a pulse. That must have been poisoned, but who..." He looked up and caught a glimpse of Itachi and Kisame hiding.

"Oh crap!" Itachi grabbed Kisame's arm and ran toward the door. They got away...for now.

"Itachi?" said Sasuke, not quite sure about what he saw.

"Who?" asked Sakura.

"Oh nothing," said Sasuke, "Here go take Kiba to his squad and tell them what happened. They're going to have to take him to the hospital."

Sakura obeyed and took Kiba.

"I told you there was something strange about that food," said Naruto after Sasuke had sat back down and Sakura had come back. Nobody had time to respond because Shikamaru walked up and asked if they needed anything.

"You know, Shikamaru, It's my birthday," said Sakura.

"...So, what do you want me to do about?"  
Sakura gave him her trademark "evil eye."

"...Umm...Fine, I'll be right back..."

He walked away and came back with some other waiters/waitress and ice-cream.

"Friendly's has a birthday song.  
It's not too short; it's not too long.  
If you're good, you'll get your wishes.  
If you're bad, you'll do our dishes.  
Sound off

Happy

Sound off

Birthday

Happy birthday

To you!"

Sakura giggled. She couldn't believe she actually got Shikamaru to do that. She started to eat the ice-cream after Shikamaru and the others left.

"Well, that was fun," giggled Sakura.

"Sakura..."  
"What, Naruto?

Naruto started longingly at Sakura's ice-cream. Sakura handed him a spoon.

"Arigato, Sakura-chan!" He started to eat. Sakura smiled.

"Sasuke-kun, do you want some?"**  
**"Nah, I'm not really in an ice-cream mood." He couldn't get that small glimpse of Itachi out of his head.

* * *

**Back to Gaara...**

"Here's your food." Shikamaru put the food on the table.

"Be careful, the plate is hot," he said while handing Temari her flounder.

"Arigato." There was something she couldn't get off her mind.

"Anything else?" asked Shikamaru after giving them their food. He was about to walk away when Temari spoke up.

"Uh, Shikamaru, sorry about earlier, you know...the...um...the-."  
"Kiss," finished Shikamaru.

Temari's cheeks turned pink.

"Yeah."  
"Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault."  
He walked away.

"Oooo, Temari and Shikamaru sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"  
"Kankuro, stop it."

"So what was it like, Temari?"  
"I told you to stop."  
"Was it..."  
Kankuro didn't say anything else. You would have to be crazy to keep talking after Gaara uncorks his gourd and stares right at you.

"Arigato, Gaara," said Temari patting her brother on the back.

"I didn't do it for you. Kankuro was just annoying me." Gaara stared at Temari through the corner of his eye.

Shivers went down Temari's back.

Then they all started to eat their food.

* * *

**At the doctor's...**

Kiba lay asleep in a white hospital bed. He snored peacefully. Hinata and Shino hovered over him. Akamaru nuzzled his cheek worriedly.

"It's okay, Kiba-kun. Everything will be fine," comforted Hinata.

"Where's the doctor with the antidote?" asked Shino.

"Right here," the doctor who had been attending to Kiba walked up, "Just minus the antidote part."

"What do you mean 'no antidote?'" asked Shino, nervous.

"Well, this is a very rare poison. Usually it isn't very dangerous to humans but it is highly dangerous to ...dogs. It could cause permanent disability or even death if not treated fast enough. Well, anyway we don't have the antidote for this because we never thought this would happen."  
"Then what will happen to Kiba-kun?"

"I'm afraid that unless he gets the antidote within the next thirty minutes, he might not make it."

"I can't believe this," grumbled Shino.

"Then what are you waiting for to get the antidote?" asked Hinata.

"Well, that's the problem. We can't get the antidote. One of you is going to have to run to the pharmacy. A ninja can get there faster than any doctor can."  
"I'll do it," informed Hinata, standing up.

"Hinata, are you sure, because I can..."  
"It's okay, Shino. I want to go."  
"Here's the prescription." The doctor handed Hinata a slip of paper.

"I'll be back as fast as I can." Hinata ran out the door.

_"Run, run, run! I have to run faster! FASTER!" _That's all Hinata was thinking as she made the ten minute run from the hospital to the pharmacy. If she didn't cut it down to a six minute run, Kiba might not make it. Hinata was not about to let that happen. So, she ran, and ran, and ran, and ran, and BAM!

"OW!" cried Hinata.

Hinata had just had a collision with something or someone. She was in an extreme amount of pain. After all, running into something when you're running that fast has got to hurt.

She sat up and opened her eyes. She looked down and was surprised to find her self sitting on top of her 'not-so-dear' cousin, who at the moment was also unconscious.

"Gasp! Neji-nii-san!"  
Hinata got up and dragged Neji toward a tree. She leaned him against it. But now she had no idea what to do.

_"Now what? If I leave Neji here he might be in serious trouble. He could be hurt. But if I don't get to the pharmacy right away Kiba could…gulp… die,"_ thought a confused Hinata.

"Neji-nii-san, please wake up..." Hinata gently shook him, but no response.

"Oh no, now what am I going to do? I only have twenty minutes left!" thought Hinata out loud.

"Hinata-sama...?"

Hinata looked down. Neji was starting to open his eyes.

"Neji-nii-san, you're awake," Hinata smiled.

"Why did you attack me?"  
"I didn't. I accidentally crashed into you. I'm so sorry Neji-nii-san. Are you hurt?"

"Why do you care? I'm supposed to protect your branch of the family, remember?"  
"Well...you're hurt...how am I not supposed to care?"  
"...'Cause...," Neji pouted rather out-of-characterly.  
"Can you stand?"  
Neji got up.

"Yeah, I'm fine."  
"Good because I have a favor to ask of you."  
"Why would I waste my time to do you a favor?"  
"Please, Neji-nii-san, it's really important!" Hinata was at the point of tears now, "Kiba-kun is in trouble and if I don't get his medicine fast enough, he might not make it! You can run faster than me. Can you run to the pharmacy and get the medicine? Please!" She started to sob.

There was a long silence. Hinata expected Neji to say no. She was about to start running again when Neji gently took the prescription out of her hand and said, "Stay here..." Then he left.

Hinata fell to her knees. She wiped the tears away and started to hope.

_"Perhaps...just maybe...he's starting to like me."_


	5. Kiba, You're Going to Die!

**I do not own Naruto yada yada... **

**Chapter 5**

Shikamaru delivered an unexpected bowl of ice cream to a certain sand kunoichi.

"This sundae is on the house, Temari."

"Uh, arigato," thanked Temari, after blinking a few times.

"...Whatever..." Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets and walked away.

Temari started to eat...slowly. She seemed to be thinking about something, almost fantasizing. Gaara picked up a spoon and started eating ice cream without even asking. Temari didn't seem to mind though. She was stuck in her own thoughts.

_"Shikamaru...Why would he give me ice cream? Unless...no that can't be it. No way. But maybe he does...maybe I...like him back...No what am I saying. He's so lazy and would never be good in a relationship...but that kiss...today...it made me so happy...I never felt that way before...hmm...maybe I should ask him..."_

"Uh, Temari, it's time to go." Gaara poked her back to reality.

"Who wha, but what about the bill?"  
"Already paid. Now let's go," replied Kankuro.

"Oh okay."

The sand siblings left the restaurant.

Shikamaru went to clean the table the three had just left.

"Gosh, what a drag. Why do I have to clean this? We need more darn employees. I've been really busy," he said to himself while wiping the table with a wet cloth.

"Temari left her fan...," Shikamaru picked up the huge fan that was left in the seat, "I guess I'll take this home, and give it to her…when I get the chance..."

* * *

**Elsewhere...leaning against tree**

_"Neji-nii-san...where is he? There are only five minutes left. What if he took the prescription just so I wouldn't have it? Maybe he doesn't want me to save Kiba...but...NO! What am I saying?! Neji-nii-san wouldn't do something like that...would he?" _Hinata was so lost in her thoughts she was in a dream like state. She was losing her confidence in Neji, as you can see.

"Hinata-sama"  
Hinata snapped back to reality. Neji was standing in front of her, with one hand on his hip and the other holding a small bag.

"Here's the medicine. You better hurry."

He handed her the bag.

Hinata was still in shock that he actually came. She stood there for about fifteen seconds.

"Uh Hel-"  
"Oh, arigato, Neji-nii-san!" Hinata wrapped her arms around him.

"You know...there are many times I wish we could be friends...," she whispered, still hugging him, "But for now, I must go." Hinata started running again.

Neji stood there completely shocked.

_"She wants... to be friends...?"_

* * *

**Back at the hospital...**

"Did I make it?!" Hinata barged into the hospital.

"You made it with one minute left. Now hurry up and give me that," replied the doctor.

Hinata threw the bag half way across the room. It flew and flew and flew. Hinata realized now that that wasn't the best idea. I mean, what if it fell? Well, anyway, it kept on flying then... Shino caught it! Yay!

"...Here..." Shino handed the bag to the doctor.

"Well, Kiba has to be injected with this, so, Hinata, roll up his sleeve and hold up his arm."

Hinata obeyed while the doctor readied the needle. Shino watched and Hinata looked away as the pointy, metal needle pierced through Kiba's skin. Kiba winced. Akamaru yelped in surprise. Hinata picked up Akamaru before he could do anything bad like bite the doctor. Kiba remained motionless.

Shino, Hinata, and the doctor waited five minutes for any sign of movement. Finally the doctor left and said to call him when Kiba woke up. So they waited. Hinata was starting to fall asleep when...

"Hinata-chan, Shino..." Kiba opened his eyes and sat up in bed.

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata ran up to hug him, but kind of miscalculated a little, just a little. Instead of hugging him, she tripped on the bag from the pharmacy-it was left on the floor-, and went flying into Kiba.

"WAH!"

"Eek!"  
Shino whistled suggestively.

Now Hinata was on a bed and on top of Kiba. How could things get any more awkward?

"Hey, is Kiba up yet...Oh! I can see you need your privacy. Gomen nasai!" The doctor had just walked in and seen Kiba and Hinata, and assumed…well...bad things...

So I guess that answers my "how could things get any more awkward" question.

"Oh my gosh, Kiba-kun, I'm so sorry!" Hinata said, getting off of her startled, blushing friend.

"Yeah...you're forgiven..."  
"Kiba, you're going to die!" lied Shino.

"What?! I don't want to die!"  
"Shino-kun, don't be mean!" scolded Hinata.

"Arf! Arf! (Kiba's alive)" Akamaru jumped into Kiba's lap.

"Kiba, don't worry. You're going to be fine. That food Naruto gave you was poisoned," said Hinata.  
"Naruto tried to poison me?!!"

"No, Naruto-kun would never do that...," blushed Hinata.

"Someone was probably trying to poison Naruto...but who...?" said Shino.

DUN DUN DUN!

**Hope you enjoyed :)**

**Please keep in mind that this story isnt supposed to be HinaxNeji or KibaxHina... I just write what I think is cute...or funny...**

**hehe...I love writing about Shino :) lol**

**hugs and kisses! **

**-Jesshiku-chan**


	6. The Effects of Video Games

**I do not own Naruto...yada yada...**

_Random information you have to know for this chapter: Kankuro is making a video documentary of his life. This includes taping... "personal" moments in his friends' and siblings' lives. Why he decided to make a video, we may never know..._

**Chapter 6 **

**Next Day (Sunday morning) Shikamaru's day off...**

_"That one looks like a clown...that one looks like a bunny...a cat..."  
_Yes, this is exactly what Shikamaru spends his time doing. Looking at the clouds. It may seem like a waste of a day off. You would think that he would be trying to have as much fun as possible or hanging out with friends. But cloud watching is Shikamaru's idea of fun, and it is quite entertaining. As for friends- too troublesome.

_"That one looks like a dragon...a dog...sponge...a...a...a cloud...that one looks like TEMARI???!!!!"  
_"Konichiwa, Shikamaru." Temari stood over him.

"What the heck are you doing here??!!!" Shikamaru had almost had a heart attack. He was not expecting anyone to interrupt his cloud watching...especially so abruptly.

"I was walking by and noticed you in the park and thought I'd say hi. Mind if I stay?"

"Whatever," he said. Temari sat.

Shikamaru noticed that she was holding a small, white box.

"What's in the box?"  
"Pastries for my undeserving brothers. I thought I'd surprise them. You want some? They won't notice if a few are missing. Plus, Kankuro doesn't need any. If you know what I mean."

"...Whatever."

Temari opened the box and took out a small powdered donut. She handed it to Shikamaru. He ate it...slowly...very slowly. Temari was so amazed at the amount of time it took him to eat it, she sat there watching him for five minutes.

"What are you looking at?"  
"You."  
"Why?"  
"Because it took you five minutes to eat that tiny donut."  
"You have a problem with my eating habits?"

"No."  
"So why are you staring?"  
"Because I feel like it."  
"Whatever..." Shikamaru didn't care anymore.

"Do you want another?"

"Do you have any Cheese Danish?"  
Temari gave him a Cheese Danish.

"You know, it's not safe to eat lying down. You could choke."

"Gosh, such a nag."

To Temari's surprise, Shikamaru sat up anyway. He started to eat.

Temari smiled. She spied his hand on the ground. She reached over while pretending to

be occupied looking at the clouds. She reached and finally their hands touched, but Shikamaru swiped his hand away causing Temari to lose her balance. She fell on him. He fell to the ground. He didn't seem to mind that she was on top of him. He was glad to be lying down again, staring at the clouds, and eating.

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru." She got off, but still lay next to him.

"Don't be. It's okay." He turned his head toward her.

"_He's so close... I can feel his breath..." _Temari tried hard not to show her excitement.

Shikamaru came closer and closer.

_"Why is he moving closer? Is he going to kiss me?"_

Shikamaru stopped and sniffed her neck.

"Nice perfume. What is it?"  
"Oh...the perfume...," Temari was disappointed, "This scent is Desert Oasis."  
She was happy that he complimented her though.

"Hmm...I wonder if my mom would like that..."

_"HIS MOM?! Gosh! And here I thought he was trying to be all romantic but nooo he was thinking about his mom!! Sigh...men can be so clueless..."_

"Oh Temari, by the way, I have your fan."

"My fan...I was wondering where that went. Why do you have it?"  
"You left it at Friendly's and I thought it would be safer if I took it home."  
"Can I have it back?"  
"Later, after I'm done cloud watching. You can come home with me and pick it up."  
"Okay, but maybe I should drop off the rest of these pastries with my brothers. So I'll be back soon. You'll still be here right?"  
"I'll be here till dark."

"Sorry I have to leave so soon. It was getting...nice." Temari walked away.

Shikamaru shrugged and went back to staring at the clouds.

_"That one looks like a pig...a turtle...a squirrel..." _He looked over in the direction that Temari had just been walking.

_"I guess she's not...too...troublesome..."_

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

Kankuro was walking down the street, camera in hand, looking for something interesting to film next. But so far, no luck.

"_My life is so boring..." _He couldn't help thinking.

He looked around at the people walking through town. Nothing interesting, so he decided to try the park.

He arrived at the park. He held up the camera and started to narrate.

"Just a peaceful day at the park. The birds are singing, the butterflies flying, and the leaves rusting in the wind. BORING! Oh! Look! My friends Anko and Gai. They seem to be having a picnic. A date, perhaps?"  
He walked up to Anko and Gai who were sitting in the park looking at the seemingly endless horizon. They were eating onigiri.

"Hey Anko, Gai, what are you doing here?"  
The two turned around in surprise.

"Kankuro, what a surprise. Gai invited me on a picnic. I couldn't resist food," answered Anko, flashing a toothy grin.

"So is this like a date?" asked our nosy friend, Kankuro.

"NO!" yelled Anko.

"YES!" blushed Gai.

"Oi, is that Naruto?" Kankuro pointed to the field in front of him.

Naruto was walking through the field. He seemed to be thinking.

Kankuro lifted his camera and started to film.

"Why yes it appears to be Naruto," said Anko.

"My friend, Naruto, walking through a field. What he is doing, we may never know. Maybe he's thinking about a certain pink-haired kunoichi," narrated Kankuro.

"Is that a bunny?" asked Gai.

"Yeah, oh look there's another," said Anko.

"And other!" said Gai.

"Our friendly forest friends seem to be walking toward Naruto. Naruto turns around and notices the bunnies. He seems to be nervous," continued Kankuro.

"The bunnies are going after Naruto!" shouted Gai.

"Run, Naruto! Run!" yelled Anko.

Right on cue, Naruto started to run, but he didn't make it more than a foot when the bunnies pounced on him.

"And the bunnies are attacking! Naruto is trying to fight back, but he can't beat the infamous ninja rabbits from the Village Hidden in the...the... the Warren!" said Kankuro.

Gai, Anko, and Kankuro watched in astonishment as a group of about ten rabbits attacked Naruto. And Naruto lost! The rabbits hopped away and left Naruto lying half dead on the floor. Anko, Gai, and Kankuro were too shocked to move, and therefore left him there.

Anko spontaneously burped and Kankuro filmed that too. Poor Anko was quite embarrassed.

* * *

**In a dojo...somewhere in Konoha...**

"Tenten, you're good at this," smirked an exhausted Neji who was standing in a fighting stance.

"You're not too bad yourself." Tenten threw a punch toward his face, but he blocked and countered with a kick, which Tenten easily dodged.

"I never thought this practice would go on for so long. It was just supposed to be a quick sparring match." Neji punched and Tenten grabbed his fist. He punched with the other hand and Tenten grabbed that one too. Then she threw him over her head.

"This is fun," panted Tenten.

"How'd you...?" Neji got up, holding his side. It hurt.

He ran toward Tenten and tried to punch her abdomen, but she used his hand as leverage to jump up and over him. Neji quickly turned around and swept Tenten off her feet with a kick.

"Ow..." Tenten rubbed her sore butt.  
"What do you say we end now and call it a draw, Tenten?"

"Yeah, two hours is enough. I can't go on."  
"Well, the deal was that whoever won got to dare the other to do something, and since we both won, we both get to. But you first."

Tenten walked up to Neji and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Okay then, Neji-kun, I dare you to kiss me."  
"Do I have to?"

"Yes, we had a deal, remember?" Tenten smiled.

Neji smiled back and leaned in to kiss her.

It must have so romantic to kiss in such a nice place. An empty dojo with open doors

revealing the spectacular orange glow of the sunset, and the cherry blossoms falling from the trees onto the beautiful wood floors.

The kiss lasted about ten seconds. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day.

"So what do you dare me to do?" asked Tenten, her cheeks the same color as the cherry blossoms.

Neji pulled her closer.

"I dare you to do that again." Neji smirked.

Tenten giggled and leaned in closer. She put her hand on his cheek and when their lips were about to touch...

"Tenten, Neji, I've been looking everywhere for you...," Lee barged in, "Woooo! You get it on girl!"  
Tenten and Neji blushed.

"Lee, what are you doing here?" squealed Tenten.  
"Lee, get out! Can't you see we're busy!" yelled Neji.

Tenten walked up to Lee.

"I'm sorry I have to do this, Lee, but..." She punched him so hard he lost consciousness.

"Was that really necessary?"  
"It is if you want me to kiss you."  
"Actually I'm not really in the mood anymore...Bye." Neji walked out the dojo.

Tenten looked at Lee's motionless body and started to cry.

"Thanks a lot, Lee...," she sobbed.

* * *

**Two figures stood over Naruto's motionless form...**

"Itachi, it worked! I told you the bunny thing was a good idea!"  
"I guess you're right, Kisame..."  
"HA! You admit it! I was right!"  
"Don't get carried away..."  
Kisame started doing some awkward dance.

"Itachi-san was wrong and I was right! In your face! Ha ha ha ha!"  
Itachi slapped him.

"Did you just slap me, you pansy."  
"Did you just call me...THAT'S IT PUNK! SHARIGAN!"  
"AHHH!!!!"

Itachi started chasing Kisame around in a circle.

"Oh..." Naruto opened his eyes. "What's going on?"

"..."  
"..."

He saw Kisame and Itachi but was too dazed to assess the information.

"Quick grab him!" yelled Itachi.

"Wahh! Let go of me! Help!" Naruto yelled as he was dragged away by our two favorite scheming villains.

* * *

**Elsewhere...**

"My 'Naruto did something stupid' sense is tingling," said Sasuke.

"You can sense that?" asked Sakura.

"No, but he gets in trouble every hour, so now is about the time."  
"..."

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

Temari and Gaara walked down the street.

"And this is your stop, little bro."  
"An arcade...I thought I was going wherever you were going..."  
"Nope."  
"Do you really want to leave me here...by myself...with all these freaks and weirdos...alone…?"  
"They're not weird. You'll be fine, Gaara. You can't get hurt very easily remember? Plus, I think I see Kankuro over there."

"My point exactly..."  
"Anyway...here's some money. Enjoy yourself. Bye. I'll be at Shikamaru's house if you need me...but try not to need me."

Temari walked away. Gaara sighed and walked into the arcade.

"_Senseless Violence III: Blood and Gore Special Edition _...seems like a fun game..."

* * *

**You seem a little confused...let's recap...**

_Temari walked into the hotel room. It was quite a boring room. Just a sofa and coffee table in one room. A bathroom and one bedroom with two small beds. _

_Temari put the box of pastries on the coffee table._

_"I guess I can go now...,"she said._

_But before she left she noticed her brother, Gaara, sitting on the sofa._

_"Gaara, you scared me!"_

_"...hm..."_

_"You look bored...Is something wrong?"  
"No..."  
Temari thought for a second. "I can't leave him here. He would be so bored and unhappy. Maybe I should take him with me...Kankuro isn't even here..."  
"Come with me, little bro."  
"Where?"  
"Anywhere's better than here," she said._

_"I guess so...fine...I'll go..."_

So that's what happened. Now Temari was walking back to the park that she had left just a few hours ago.

Shikamaru was getting ready to leave. Temari made it just in time.

"What took you so long? I was just about to leave without you."

"Well, sorry...I got a little...sidetracked..."

"Let's go."

Temari and Shikamaru walked. It was dark now. The clouds were gone. The stars were

shining bright.

"Are we almost there?" complained Temari.

"Yes, we are here," said Shikamaru walking toward a house.

He opened the door and walked in. His parents seemed to have been waiting.

"Shikamaru, where have you been, young man?" scolded his mother.

Shikamaru didn't answer. His mom was about to say something else when Temari

walked in.

"Oh..." His dad was quite surprised.

"A girl?" His mom was even more surprised.

"Mom, Dad, this is Temari. She's here to pick up her fan," said Shikamaru, seeing that

his parents were looking for answers.

"Konnichiwa, nice to meet you," said Temari with a polite wave.

Shikamaru told her the fan was upstairs and pointed to the first door on the left. Temari walked upstairs. Shikamaru was about to follow, but his parents weren't done with him yet. At least his mom wasn't.

"Figures...I told you to bring home milk like seven hours ago and you come home with a girl. She is pretty though..."

His dad simply looked up from the newspaper he was reading and winked at him, for reasons unknown to Shikamaru...at the moment.

"Okay whatever..." Shikamaru went upstairs.

Temari had already found her fan, and had made herself comfortable sitting on Shikamaru's couch. Shikamaru sat down next to her.

"Want to watch a movie or something?" asked Shikamaru.

"Sure. What movies do you have?"  
"Check for yourself." He pointed to the cabinet the TV was sitting on.

Temari started to rummage through the very messy cabinet. _Very _messy.

* * *

**While they try and choose what movie they want to watch let's go to a commercial break...I mean other scene...**

Hinata sat in tree staring at the stars. Actually she had been staring at the stars. Now she was asleep and didn't even realize how late it was.

Neji was walking home from the dojo- thoughts of the lovely Tenten still occupied his mind. He was not expecting for a certain cousin of his to fall out of a tree and land right on top of him.

"OW! Not again!"  
Hinata woke up. She had absolutely no idea what had happened. All she noticed was that all of a sudden she was in pain.

"Hinata-sama, get off of me!"  
"Oh!" she got up, "Neji-nii-san, I'm so sorry!"

"No problem," he said getting up and wiping some dirt of his shirt.

"Really? You forgive me?...I thought you would be angry..."  
"Listen, Hinata-sama, I've been thinking about what you said...and well...I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have held that whole family grudge thing against you. You're a really nice girl and I guess we could...be...friends."  
Hinata stood there silent in shock. She didn't move.

"Uh...Hinata, can you say something, please. You're kinda scaring me..."

"O, Neji-nii-san!"

"WAH!"

Hinata glomped him. Neji almost fell...again.

"Oh, arigato, Neji-nii-san!"

Neji hugged back.

"Okay okay, enough. I have to go home now. You should be heading home too. It's almost midnight."

"...WHAT?! MIDNIGHT! OH MY GOSH! NO! NO! NO! I have to go home now!"_  
_"Sigh...Come on I'll walk you home," said Neji.

"Oh," Hinata blushed, "You would really do that?"

"Yeah, I have nothing else to do…and sort of live five minutes apart."

They started to walk.

They arrived at Hinata's house five minutes later. Her father was already waiting by the

door for her. He was angry.

"Hinata, where have you been?!" shouted her dad from seven yards away.

"Hiashi-sama, you need not worry. Hinata simply fell asleep outside and lost track of time, so I brought her home," Neji explained, "Oyasumi nasai. Ja ne."

Hinata and Hiashi watched Neji walk away.

"Hinata…"

"Yes, Father?"

"Did Neji…just do his job?"

* * *

**Back at Shikamaru's house...**

Temari stuffed popcorn into her mouth. Shikamaru was taking a kernel every once in a while. The movie _Watership Down_ was about halfway through.

"I don't trust those rabbits, do you?" asked Temari turning to look at Shikamaru.

"I've seen this movie before. I know what happens. You see, Fiver knew that something was up, but no one believed him till –" Temari clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Don't ruin it for me. Please. I'm enjoying the suspense."  
"Sigh...It would have been too troublesome to explain anyway..."

Not too long after, at about the time Hazel gets shot (referring to movie), Temari found herself ignoring the movie and staring at Shikamaru longingly. She realized what she was doing and turned away immediately. Her cheeks were pink and she knew it, but there was no way she was going to let Shikamaru see her blushing. But I guess it was too late...

"You want to kiss me right now, don't you?" asked Shikamaru abruptly.

Temari was taken aback for a second, but then managed to come up with a response, "W-why would I want to? I have no interest in guys, let alone lazy bums like you."

"Sigh...I don't understand women...How do you get such satisfaction from such a trivial thing as the touching of lips...?"

"Didn't you just hear me?! I said-" started Temari angrily.

"But...," Shikamaru interrupted, "you're not troublesome...much...and if that's what'll make you happy..."

Shikamaru kissed her lightly on the lips.

There was a long silence.

"You know, that would've been a lot more romantic if we were standing up," Temari smiled.

"Gosh you're such a nag," Shikamaru grabbed her hand and stood up, "Is this better?"  
Temari thought for a second, "In that dark corner over there." She was having fun annoying him.

"Okay is _this_ better?" asked Shikamaru, starting to regret saying she was not troublesome.

"Just right. And by the way, you're a bad kisser."  
"WHAT?! You are lucky you even-"  
Temari placed her finger on his mouth as a sign for quiet.

"Let me show you how it's done," she said playfully walking her fingers up his arms and flicking his nose.  
"Ow my nose..."

Temari ignored that last remark and kissed him.

_"Oh gosh! This is what I get for dating an older woman!" _thought Shikamaru bracing himself against the wall. _"I'm just a simple guy who enjoys simple pleasures. I never asked for this!"_

They were still kissing when the door suddenly opened and...

"...And... here is my older sister making out with her boyfriend!" documented Kankuro, who had his camera and was filming...

"Oh no...," Temari was very surprised and nervous, "Did you get that on tape?"

"Yes, but don't blame me! I was just minding my own business and I walk in to check on my dear sister and...Well I didn't expect to find you kissing Shikamaru!"  
"You liar! You just wanted to spy on me!"  
"Well actually... I came here because of Gaara," he walked out the room for a second and came back holding up Gaara effortlessly, "Looks like video games _are _bad influences."

"Must...kill...explosions...muhaha...blood...heh heh...die die die...," babbled Gaara, who seemed to have lost his mind.

"You idiot! That's normal for Gaara!"

Temari picked up her fan and … WHOOSH! Bye bye "moment-ruining brothers." A few loud bangs and crashing sounds indicated that they had fallen down the stairs.

"Oww..."  
"Kankuro, you're bleeding..."  
"I can see I'm bleeding, Gaara!"

Temari walked over to Shikamaru.

"I guess I should be going now," she stared angrily at the door, "Those darn bakas...Shikamaru-kun, arigato. How about we go cloud watching tomorrow?"

"Sure, as long as you don't bother me..."

Temari left. Shikamaru went to sleep. What a hectic night.

* * *

**Early morning...about 4a.m...**

"Let me go! You big, dumb excuse for a fish! BAKA!" Naruto flailed his arms around.

Kisame held him effortlessly by his side. He had his arm warped around Naruto's waist. Naruto stared at the ground he was hopelessly hovering above.

"Now is that anyway to talk to you captors?"  
"Grrr!"  
"Ow! The little punk bit me!"

"Kisame, don't be a wimp. He's just a little kid," said Itachi.

"With sharp teeth!" informed Kisame.  
"Yours are sharper. Bite him back."

"Good idea..."  
"Eep! Let go"


	7. Flowers, Sweets, LOVE!

**I do not own Naruto...yada yada... **

**Chapter 7**

**Back in Konoha...people are starting to realize something is missing...**

"Hey, Sakura, does something seem amiss to you?" Sasuke walked up to Sakura, who was sitting on a bench next to a fountain.

"No, everything seems in order to me."

**Okay maybe they haven't noticed just yet...**

* * *

**..well this story is supposed to be about Shikamaru, so lets see what our favorite lazy boy is doing...hehe...lazy boy...get it...laZ boy…as in the furniture store...get it...never mind...**

It was 8a.m. and Shikamaru was running late for work. Not that he cared. He just knew that if he got fired his mom would be angry, and Shikamaru was trying as hard as he could to avoid unnecessary arguments.

"Shikamaru, Shikamaru, wait up!" A young girl ran up to him.

Who could it be? Sakura? Ino? Temari? Tenten perhaps? Well if you guessed any of those you're wrong! It was Umeko! You remember. That friendly waitress all the way back in chapters 3 and 4. I bet you weren't expecting her.

"Shikamaru, let's walk to work together. This way when we're late we'll each get yelled at half as much as we would've been if we were alone." She smiled.

"Are you trying to say you're using me?" joked Shikamaru.

"If that's what you wanna call it."

Shikamaru smiled.

"You make work bearable, Umeko. I don't think I could survive one day in Friendly's without you."

Umeko blushed. Could it be...Am I sensing...maybe a small crush?

So they walked on. They arrived at Friendly's and, of course, got yelled at.

* * *

**At the market...a certain person was looking for another certain person...**

_"Where the heck is my dear, sweet Anko? Iruka said she was here." _Gai walked around the market, looking at all the people walking by. He had a flower in his hand that he had personally hand-picked for Anko.

He looked to left. He looked to right. _"Is that her? No." _He walked around in a circle. _"I guess she's not here...Oh! There she is!"  
_He ran over to a certain purple haired ninja.

"Anko, Anko-san!"  
"Gai...?"

Gai continued to run happily toward Anko, but stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed a certain silver haired rival of his with her.

"Kakashi! What are you doing here?! Trying to steal my woman?!" Gai pointed an accusing finger at him.

"We **are **rivals, remember?" replied Kakashi mockingly.

Gai's eyes flamed with anger.

Poor Anko was completely lost as to the reason of this sudden conflict.

"But that's not why we're here, Gai. Actually we could use your help too," continued Kakashi.

"Hmm...With what?"  
"Well, Gai, have you noticed lately that Konoha's number one hyperactive, knucklehead ninja has been missing?" asked Anko.

"Naruto...well, yeah, I guess I haven't seen him in a while. Why?"  
"He's gone, and we're organizing a search party. We need your help assembling anyone you think worthy of the task," said Anko.

"I'll get right on it, but first...," Gai thrust his flower-holding hand toward Anko, "The prettiest flower in Konoha for the prettiest woman in Konoha." He gave a shy, blushing smile.

To both Gai's and Kakashi's surprise, Anko accepted the flower with her cheeks glowing pink.

"I- It's nice," thanked Anko, admiring the flower.

Gai was overflowing with happiness. Kakashi was completely dumfounded.

"Nothing like this ever happened in Icha Icha Paradise..."  
Anko and Gai stared at him blankly. Kakashi walked away saying something about having to talk to the author.

"Well, I guess I should go get ready for the search mission. We need to find Naruto if I'm ever gonna scare the crap out of him again. Hehe. We meet at the town gate at 4p.m. See ya there." Anko put the flower gently in her pocket and walked away.

_"I think she likes me...maybe next time I'll bring her dumplings!"_

* * *

**Around 3pm...when Shikamaru was finished working...sitting in the park...**

"Shikamaru!" shouted a familiar voice.

Shikamaru turned his attention from the clouds to the voice.

"Temari? What are you doing here?"  
"We have a date remember?"  
"Oh yeah..."  
"Or at least we _had_ one."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Gai, Kakashi, and Anko are arranging a search party. They are demanding you come, Mr. Chuunin."  
"Gosh...what a drag...A search party for whom?"  
"Naruto."  
"He's missing?"  
"Apparently."

Shikamaru sat up. Temari walked over and sat next to him.

"But before you go. I wanted to apologize for yesterday..."  
"For your brothers? Don't worry abou-."  
"No, not that. I think I came on a little too strong yesterday. I'm sorry if I took things a little too quickly..." Temari looked at the ground and fiddled with her fingers, "You know, It's not everyday you get to be with someone you lo- uh like."

"Oh...nah it's fine. Hey...we never did finish that movie. So after this whole Naruto search thing is sorted out, you can come over and watch it."

"That'd be great," Temari smiled.

"I have to go now." Shikamaru got up and started walking.

Temari followed.

"Here take this," she said handing him a small white bag.

"What's this?"  
"Candy. I thought we could eat it during our date, but...obviously we can't."

"...Arigato," said Shikamaru so quietly that Temari barely heard it.

Temari smiled triumphantly as Shikamaru walked away.

_"I knew he liked me. Well, I guess I should go make sure Gaara hasn't killed Kankuro while I was gone."_

She walked back to her temporary home in the hotel.

**Short chapter I know, but don't worry the next one is long...cause it's the last one...** **yup...just one more**

**hugs and kisses**

**-Jesshiku-chan**


	8. To Future Adventures!

**I do not own Naruto...yada yada... **

**Chapter 8**

**4pm...****Search party ready... **

Not many people showed up for the search. I guess no one really cares about Naruto...The only people who came were Kakashi, Gai, Anko, Shikamaru, Hinata, Lee, Tenten, Sasuke, and Sakura.

They split up into groups.

Gai and Anko searched around the village.

Everyone else searched outside the village. Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Hinata searched west of town. Lee and Tenten searched east of town. Sasuke and Sakura searched south.

They were all to meet back at the village gate in an hour.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

"Itachi, are we there yet?"  
"No..."  
"Itachi, I'm hungry."  
"Not my problem."

"Itachi, I need to go potty."  
"Leave me out of it."  
"Itachi, this Naruto kid is heavy."

"I'm not carrying him."  
"Itachi, can I have ¥30,000?"  
"No..."  
"Itachi, my feet hurt!"  
"Grr..."  
"Itachi, I'm tired! Can we stop?"  
"No."  
"Itachi-"  
"SHUT UP!"

"Wha!"

"Can you let me go now?" asked an annoyed Naruto.

"I wish...," complained Kisame.

* * *

**Somewhere near there...**

"Sasuke-kun, I can't believe we never noticed Naruto was gone," sighed Sakura.

Sasuke jumped out of the tree he was keeping a look-out in.

"I told you I had the feeling something was missing."  
"I guess I should've listened..."  
"Shh! Sakura, do you hear something?"  
They listened. They could hear faint voices in the distance.

"Come on, lets check it out," ordered Sasuke.

* * *

**Back to Villains and Naruto...**

Itachi perked up when he heard noises- voices coming from the distance. As hard as he tried to listen he couldn't. For something was getting in the way...

"Actually I like chicken ramen better than beef," informed Naruto.

"Really? I've always found shrimp to be the best," declared Kisame.

"No way! Even mushroom is better than shrimp."

Kisame had let go of Naruto (gasp!) and now they were sitting on the floor discussing ramen. They are such bakas...  
"What about pork? Do you like pork?" asked Kisame.  
"Yeah! It's delicious."  
"Still shrimp is better."  
"Nah. Shrimp is my least favorite. I can't say I don't like it 'cause I like all ramen. But I really hate those three minutes you have to wait for the water to boil."

"Me too! But you know what I really like?"

"What?"

"The ramen they serve at the Ichiraku."  
"Oh my gosh! Me too!"  
"Really?!"

Itachi stared at the two in disbelief.

"Would you guys shut up?! I'm trying to listen!"  
"To what?" asked Naruto.

"Kisame, pick him up now..."  
"Sigh...gomen, Naruto." Kisame picked him.

Itachi peered behind a tree. He saw Sasuke and Sakura walking toward them. Sasuke didn't see him though. That might be a good thing.

"Oh my gosh! It's Sasuke! He can't see me! It's not time for our dramatic, affecting, breathtaking, climactic, electrifying, emotional, expressive, histrionic, melodramatic, moving, powerful, sensational, startling, striking, suspenseful, and thrilling family reunion yet!"

Kisame and Naruto stared in awe.

"Wow...I didn't know there were so many ways to say the same thing...," gawked Kisame.

"Um...I didn't know what half of those words meant..."

Itachi turned to Kisame.

"Kisame, drop him and run!"

Kisame dropped Naruto and ran toward Itachi.

"Come on!" Itachi grabbed his arm and led him away.

Naruto sat on the floor completely dumfounded.

"Naruto!" shouted Sakura with glee.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"Oi, loser!"

"Sasuke?"

Sakura ran up and hugged Naruto.

Sasuke punched him on the back of the head.

"Sasuke, what was that for?!" yelled Naruto.

"That's what you get for running off like that and making us worry," replied Sasuke with his arms crossed.

"I WAS KIDNAPPED YOU BAKA!"

"What? By who?" asked Sakura.

"I don't know. Some guy named Kisame and another named Itachi...I think. You know...Sasuke, one of them kinda looked like you..."

"...Itachi..."

"Do you know him, Sasuke?" asked Naruto.

"Never mind, lets just go back home."

"I'm okay with that!"

"We'll get you some ramen, Naruto," smiled Sakura.

"Ramen...," drooled Naruto.

They were about to leave when...

"Naruto-kun!" shouted a happy Hinata.  
Shikamaru and Kakashi were there too.

Hinata ran toward Naruto. Have you ever been so overwhelmed with emotion that you do things that you wouldn't normally do? Well, that's kind of what happened here...

Hinata was so happy that she let some of that emotion out...in the form of a kiss.

Of course everyone knew that Hinata liked Naruto (except Naruto), but no one expected her to do anything like that. Hinata didn't even expect herself to do that. She pushed herself off of Naruto almost as soon as their lips touched. She fell to the ground, her face completely red.

"N-nar-naruto, I'm so sorry..."  
Naruto was completely stunned and didn't know how to react.

Everyone stared.

Then Naruto figured it out, or at least he thought he figured it out.

"It's okay, Hinata, I understand."

"Y- you d-do?"

"Yeah, you were obviously so overwhelmed with emotion that you couldn't control yourself. I mean, it's not like you did that cause you like me...right?"  
Everyone watching wanted to punch Naruto right there and then. I mean how dense could he be?! What other hint could he need to figure out Hinata likes him?!

"Oh..." was all Hinata said before passing out.

"Was it something I said?" asked Naruto.

Everyone stared in disbelief.

"Come on, let's go already. I have to meet with Tema- I mean...I have things to do," stated Shikamaru.  
"Hehe, cute," giggled Sakura.

"Wow, who would've thought? Shikamaru snagging an older woman. Good job," Kakashi patted him on the back.

Shikamaru brushed Kakashi away.

"What the heck are you talking about?"

Naruto started singing, "Shika and Temari sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"  
"...It wasn't in a tree...," mumbled Shikamaru.

Everyone gasped.

"Well, at least he's being honest," said Sakura.

"Let's go," said Shikamaru.

So they walked back to the village gate. The others were waiting there for them. More people than who met originally…

Tenten, Lee, Anko, and Gai were there, but so were Neji, Kiba, Shino, Ino, Chouji, Iruka, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, and let's not forget Umeko.

"What the heck?" asked Shikamaru upon seeing the crowd that was assembled.

"What's going on here?" asked Anko.

"Are you having a party? Wait! Why wasn't I invited?!" shouted Naruto.

"Don't be silly. You're all invited!" smiled Umeko.

Shikamaru looked from left to right, observing the scene that was before him.

"What the heck is going on here, Umeko?"  
"Well, I invited all your friends to come eat at Friendly's. I already made reservations. We're supposed to be there in about twenty minutes, Shikamaru."  
Shikamaru contemplated this for a moment.  
"Why are we meeting at Friendly's?"  
"Employee discount, duh," grinned Umeko holding up two fingers in the peace/victory sign.  
Shikamaru let out a small laugh.  
"I mean, what's the point?"  
"Celebration! We found Naruto. That's a good thing, right?"

Everyone in the crowd looked at each other with the same thought and in unison shouted, "NO!"

Naruto's anger boiled inside him and he was about to burst when Sakura hugged him.

"We're all just kidding, Naruto, you're fun to have around."

"You may be a loser, but…sometimes I guess that's a good thing," said Sasuke, looking

up into the sky.

"Arigato," said Naruto with a grin.

"Come on, lets go, Shikamaru," said Temari, dragging him into the group.

They started walking to Friendly's. The big group attracted attention on the streets, but

they didn't mind. This evening was going to be all about fun.

About midway through the walk, Umeko found some time to be almost alone with Shikamaru, which gave her time to say what was on her mind.

"Oi, Shikamaru, I know about you and Temari," she said quietly, making sure no one else

would hear. She had a slight hint of pain in her voice.

"What about us?" asked Shikamaru.

"You're dating her, Shikamaru-kun, you shouldn't deny it."

"Okay, maybe I do like her. So?"

"Well, to be honest. I kinda like you too. But I guess Temari is a better match for you, so I don't really mind. Whatever makes you happy." The cheeriness returned to her voice.

"Arigato, Umeko-chan," said Shikamaru with a smile. Umeko smiled back.

"Oh, we're here already." She ran to open the door for everyone.

"Welcome to Friendly's everyone!" she smiled.

The group of twenty people walked in. Wow! That's a lot!

After Shikamaru and Umeko had so kindly served everyone they sat down and got to

talking. The topics of conversation stayed on Naruto most of the time. Once in a while someone would ask a question about one of the numerous couples- mostly about Temari and Shikamaru. At one point, Lee even blurted out what he had seen in the dojo. He then received a thorough thrashing from a very embarrassed Tenten.

Other then that, it was one of the happiest nights in any of there lives. Even

Gaara felt welcome for once. Though he stayed in the corner, anyone who paid close attention could see a gentle, yet barely visible, smile. He especially loved the ice-cream fight, which was started by none other than Naruto, who felt a very strong urge to whack Sasuke in the nose with a spoon full of ice cream. Things got crazy after that and soon everyone was covered in ice-cream.

Anko had time to properly thank Gai for the flower with a quick kiss on the cheek. He

then responded to that with a very painful bear hug.

"Ow! Gai, I think you crushed my rip cage!"  
"Oh sorry, Anko-chan."

"Don't call me that!"  
"Fine, Anko-san!"

Everyone laughed, except Gaara.

Kakashi nudged Gai with his elbow.

"Score one for you, rival. Great job," he whispered.

Of course, I can't let this end without Kakashi getting hurt so let's just say Anko heard

him say that and hit him over the head with a plate.

"OW!"  
Anko stuck her tongue out at him, "That'll teach ya," she grinned.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. _"Man, that hurt!"_

"This is fun!" shouted Kiba, roughly setting his drink down on the table.

"Darn it, Kiba, watch where you put your stuff! You just killed a female fly! That's

three thousand less flies for the world!" shouted Shino.

"Oh yeah! Who says the world even wants more flies, bug-freak!" Kiba banged his fist

on the table.

"YOU JUST DID IT AGAIN!"  
"Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, stop arguing. Tonight is all about fun, remember?" interjected Hinata.

"Yeah Yeah," responded Kiba, crossing his arms.

"He started it…," mumbled Shino.

"What was that?!" growled Kiba.

Ino kicked Kiba under the table.

"Shut up, dog-boy!"

"What was that for?!"  
Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder, "Kiba-kun, please…"  
"Gosh, fine, but I don't see anyone kicking Shino…"

"That's 'cause Shino isn't doing anything," replied Sakura.

"WHAT THE HE-"

Ino kicked him again.

"Darn it, woman, that hurts!"

"So stop yelling. The argument ended a while ago," said Temari, giving Kiba an annoyed

look.

"Darn, it was getting good," informed Kankuro, "Why'd you have to go stop him like that, Temari?"

"He was ruining everyone's evening," replied Temari simply, while sneaking her arm around Shikamaru's waist.

But no amount of sneaking could leave that unnoticed.

"Woo! You go Temari," shouted Lee, "Now if only Shikamaru would return the gesture!"

"That would be nice," said Temari smiling, without the faintest hint of embarrassment in her voice.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, was a different story. With pink cheeks he let out an annoyed "Gosh…," and then with a sigh said, "Whatever…"

Everyone smiled, amused, at the flustered chuunin. Tenten giggled and wrapped her arms around Neji's. He pretended not to notice…

With nothing better to do, Naruto and Kankuro were having a staring contest. Sasuke, also with nothing better to do, kept poking Naruto to try and distract him into blinking.

Gaara stared out the window.

"Oi, I have an idea, everyone," declared Iruka. You forgot he was there, didn't you?  
Anyway, everyone stared at Iruka.

"Nani?" asked Umeko.

"Let's make a toast to future adventures!" He smiled.

Everyone nodded, agreeing it was a good idea. Even Gaara nodded his head in

acknowledgement of the idea. Everyone grabbed their cups…except Naruto.

"Uh, guys, I don't have a cup…"

"Naruto, must you ruin everything!" complained Sakura.

"You're such a loser…," said Sasuke.

"Shikamaru, go get him a cup! Hurry," ordered Temari.

Shikamaru jumped out of the chair and ran to the kitchen. Just picture the dramatic music

and slow motion drama.

The others waited.

"What are we doing?" asked Chouji suddenly, looking up from his food.

Everyone stared.

"You really have to pay more attention, Chouji," said Ino.

Chouji didn't have time to respond because…Shikamaru came back! Yay!

"Here, Naruto," he said, handing him the cup.

"Okay, everyone ready?" asked Iruka.

Everyone nodded.

"Okay, one….two….three." They all banged their cups together.

"To future adventures!" everyone shouted gleefully.

**THE END**

**or is it...?**

**hugs and kisses**

**-Jesshiku-chan  
**


	9. Blurb

**I do not own Naruto...yada yada... **

**If this story still doesn't feel finished to you here's a little blurb from a month later…**

Shikamaru sat at the kitchen table.

"Sorry Mom, I wasn't able to get you anything for your birthday…"

His mom was washing dishes from lunch.

"That's okay, Shikamaru-chan, just being able to see my son get off his lazy butt for a change is a gift in itself."

Shikamaru smiled, "Arigato, Mom…I think."

Shikamaru waited a moment to process his thoughts.

"Wait…I DID ALL THAT FOR NOTHING??!!"

**THE END…SERIOUSLY NOW.**

**Hope you enjoyed my story :) As I was going back and editing this I remembered all the good times I had while working on this. I also realized how much my writing has improved. Lol  
**

**Please review and tell me what you think.**

**hugs and kisses**

**-Jesshiku-chan **


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